Barnyard manure is an excellent fertilizer. It is common practice for farm operators to dispense the manure in fields in which crops are grown. A variety of manure spreaders have been developed to haul and distribute different types of manure. For instance, conventional box-type spreaders are preferred for handling dry, hard clumps of manure. In such spreaders, the bin for conveying the manure is a relatively wide, shallow box-shaped bin. A moveable conveyer mounted on the bottom of the bin transfers manure to the rear of the bin. Rotating beaters, typically fan or paddle shaped, are mounted at the rear of the bin and distribute the manure in a wide swath to the field.
Box-type spreaders are well suited for the transportation and distribution of solid, clumpy manure, but have not proven effective for distributing liquid or semi-liquid manure. The bins are not sealed, causing leakage of liquid and semi-liquid manure during transportation of the manure to the field. In addition, the broad, flat bottoms of box-type spreaders are not suited for effectively conveying runny liquid and semi-liquid manure to the beaters.
Recent emphasis on the collection and spreading of liquid and semi-liquid manure has led to the development of manure spreaders having top loading V-shaped carrying tanks. V-shaped tanks have steep inwardly angled sides in order to convey the manure to the lowermost portion of the tank. An auger assembly transports the manure rearwardly to side mounted blower assemblies. The blower assemblies distribute the manure from either side of the spreader onto the field in a wide swath.
V-shaped spreaders are well adapted to distribute cattle manure in liquid or slurry forms, as well as swine and poultry manure. Viscous and solid manures, however, are not effectively handled by conventional V-shaped spreaders. The relatively narrow, deep tank of the V-shaped tank causes such manure to form a bridge over the auger, thereby restricting the flow of manure to the auger. Additionally, blowers designed to effectively spray liquid and semi-liquid manure are not generally effective to distribute viscous or solid manure. Moreover, solid viscous manure has an especially sticky consistency. It tends to adhere to manure spreader components and surfaces and may clog the augers. Manure can also contain fibrous plant and vegetable waste material and debris such as stones, straw, and the like. Viscous manure and debris are known to cause the augers to ride up and out of the conveyor troughs in which the augers are designed to operate.
A farm operator currently needs two different manure spreaders in order to be able to effectively distribute all forms of manure. Box-type spreaders, suitable for distributing solid manure, are not well adapted for handling liquid and semi-liquid manure. V-shaped spreaders, while especially suited for handling liquid and semi-liquid manure, become clogged and inoperative when handling viscous and sold manure. A manure spreader of simple design that was capable of effectively distributing liquid, semi-liquid, and solid manure onto a field would present decided advantages.